Summer is kicking off with a new extraterrestrial Spielberg movie, and it is only the beginning of solid filmmaking! (Summer actually starts June 21st, but it’s hot as hell where we are, so let’s not get too technical, okay?)
Toy Story 5
The Death of Robin Hood
Leviticus
Jackass: Best and Last
Supergirl
The Odyssey
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
One Night Only
An incredible lineup with a mix of nostalgia, mythology, idiocracy, superhero, and feel-good rom-com. We have a feeling it’s going to be a fun season of moviegoing. Let’s get into it!
Here’s what we have for you this week:
Concession Stand Scorecard: Disclosure Day
Watchlist Worthy: The Eldest Boy is back!
This week’s movie - Disclosure Day
Letterboxd Description:
We deserve to know.
A cybersecurity expert becomes a whistleblower to reveal secrets about aliens, putting him on the run from a corporation while a meteorologist experiences strange phenomena and joins forces with him to prove there’s life beyond our knowledge.
Best Watched With
Someone you would take the long way home with, to continue the conversation.
End Credit Thoughts
We went in mostly blind, having watched an early trailer, and, honestly, had an absolute blast. We felt like curious kids again, asking our parents questions only to get "trust me," aka "because I said so.” So if you are asking us, “why should I watch this in theaters?” and want to be bold and brave, trust us. Go see it. Not because it is going to be universally loved, but because it brings up themes, thoughts, and ideas we think are worth sitting with.
HOWEVER, we can not not write a little something something for the skeptics of Spielberg (are there?) and supporters of this newsletter.
What would make the world stand still?
This is what Spielberg is exploring in Disclosure Day. The latest trailer—and the letterboxd description—explicitly mention aliens. Yes, extraterrestrial life would make 8 billion people pause and consider implications. But it’s not the what that fills people’s legs with lead, but the context. The movie has something to say about the other, the unknown, and though the characters on all sides are riddled with fear, the story is not.
Themes and tones of religion and politics are heavy, something we did not expect. They are used well for character development and character arcs. Considering one of the main characters is a private corporation whistleblower (Josh O’Connor), morality and ethics are wrestled with. The story tugged us close and made us consider what we would do in the situation. It’s not quite one side vs the other, which we appreciated. We love seeing the complexity of what it means to be human, to be alive amongst non-human life, and what it would mean to decenter humanity regarding the universe.
The movie is incredibly empathetic, and we can’t think of a better trio than Emily Blunt, Coleman Domingo, and Josh O’Connor, to bring the story to the silver screen. Blunt embodies power and authority with gentle hands and a caring heart. O’Connor is a tender soul, on and off the screen, and Coleman is someone we would blindly follow to the promised land if he asked. The movie needed warmth, and it needed us to believe the characters believed in each other. This team delivered.
There’s a lot we love about Spielberg’s storytelling, but one of the best things he does is his use of curiosity, tension, and awe and wonder. From the lighting to the camera movement, what is left out of the frame is just as important as what’s within it, down to the subtle movements and moments between characters; he uses every aspect of filmmaking not only to move the story forward but also to draw the audience to the edge of their seats.
Disclosure Day is strange. It is mystical and beautiful. Whether this movie is loved or hated, it’s the kind of movie that reminds us why cinemas exist. A big screen for a big story with big feelings within a massive universe.
Is it a timely movie for the current world we’re living in? We don’t know, but we’d like to think so. This movie is worth the price of admission.
Josh Jump Scare Count: 1 (big one)
The Social Reckoning by Aaron Sorkin
Letterboxd Description:
Frances Haugen, a young Facebook engineer, enlists the help of Jeff Horwitz, a Wall Street Journal reporter, to go on a dangerous journey that ends up blowing the whistle on the social network’s most guarded secrets.
Okay there is so much to be excited about here. One of us — we won’t mention any names (Josh) — had a sexual reaction to this trailer.
THE CAST?? Mikey Madison? Jeremy Strong? Jeremy Allen White? Bill Burr (?)? This should be insane. Strong NAILS the Zuckerberg voice.
Now the problem is, The Social Network is a top 10 movie of all time (shoutout Fincher) so only time will tell if this lives up to the hype. Sorkin is a fantastic director so we have high hopes. Is it missing the Fincher sauce? Or maybe the only sauce we needed was the trailer ending with the OG film score because we slurped that up.
We can’t wait to find out.
Also Directed by Aaron Sorkin:
Molly’s Game (2017)
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
Being the Ricardos (2021)
Tune in next week for | Toy Story 5
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